The basic premise is thus: Carrey plays Walter Sparrow, an everyday kind of guy that happens to be an animal control officer. One day on the job, just as his shift is about to wrap up, he gets bit by a dog, making him late for picking up his wife, played by Madsen. She wanders into a bookstore and comes across a book called… (drum roll please)… The Number 23. She passes it on to Walter, he starts to read it, and starts to see too many similarities between the main character of the novel (Detective Fingerling) and himself. He becomes obsessed with the number 23 and starts to see it in every aspect of his life, from his home address to his social security number, from his birthday to the day he met his wife. Fingerling gets involved in murder, suicide, and all sorts of other good things. Walter is drawn in further and…. I’m not going to ruin it for you.

I grew up watching Jim Carrey as the outlandish comic actor. I enjoyed watching him as Fire Marshall Bill on In Living Color and as a pet detective in Ace Ventura. While it’s understandable that he wants to expand beyond comedy and be taken as a serious actor, I just don’t buy it. There are little jokes here and there, but all in all, it’s supposed to be a dramatic thriller. Shockers come up, but I found myself laughing at Carrey more than being pulled into the tense situations. Jim’s facial expressions are inherently humourous, even when he’s trying to show pain, paranoia, or revelation.

Before all the bad reviews came out, I was pretty stoked about this movie. It seemed fascinating and had a great premise. The fantasy world depicted (the one described in the novel) was very artfully done, very stylish. It was almost Sin City-like, and it made for a very sensual experience (and not just in a sexual kind of way). The art was great and it really felt like you were “watching” a live graphic novel. Too bad the events seemed terribly disconnected and the progression of the plot wasn’t executed nearly as well as it could have been. It was disjointed, and there were several instances where it would change from day to night (and back) almost instantaneously. Someone would walk into a building in the middle of the night, but as soon as they enter, bright sunlight would fill the room. Very strange.

The Number 23 is far more thoughtful than Ghost Rider, but it’s nowhere near as intelligent as Little Miss Sunshine. Considering that it’s been surrounded by bad reviews, The Number 23 is better than I expected. It’s not Oscar material, but there’s enough substance here that’ll get you thinking (just a bit) and enough thrills that will have you guessing what happens next. I can’t recommend it, per se, but if you’ve got a spare evening, it wouldn’t be wasted watching The Number 23.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Side note: As soon as I exited the auditorium at Silvercity Metropolis, I immediately saw these three movie posters:

300: That’s a three and two zeros. 32 = 23 in reverse.

TMNT: Comes out on March 23.

Shrek the Third: “Shrek the” is two words, followed by “third.” Also comes out on May 18 (5/18); 5 + 18 = 23.

I think Google crawls me daily, because I usually start getting served relevant ads within the day. That’s not to say that I’m not psychological instable :p I have written on Seasonal Affective Disorder, after all.

And yes, I saw the movie on Friday night, March 2….. 3/2…. 32…… *shudder*

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